Maison Notre Dame du Rosaire

House of Notre Dame of the Rosary

Location

Ashqout, in the Keserwen region 31 km north of Beirut in Lebanon

Who looks after them and how it is currently funded?

The Antonine Sisters have a monastery where the sisters reside. They also run an orphanage that currently houses 130 children and a school to help them learn. The sisters currently receive 4750 (around $AUD4) Lebanese pounds a day from the Ministry of Social Affairs per child. But this is not nearly enough when they need 20 million Lebanese pounds a month to provide the children with the care they need. This includes clothes, education, food, heating and maintaining the buildings.

The sisters have tried to get more funding from the Health Minister, but there is no more money available. They rely on donations from people with generous hearts to help fund providing their children quality of life and a good education.

Information about the students who attend

How many: 130 orphans, underprivileged children and from broken homes are living in the orphanage. And the sisters plan to offer shelter to more.
Where do the children come from: Children come from all denominations and all types of difficult circumstances. Some come from broken homes where their parents have divorced, financially disadvantaged families and some have lost both parents and have nowhere to go.

Why they need money

Solar/wind power, batteries and diesel generators as electricity in the region is unreliable. They need these to power the lights, heating, cooling, cooking and to create and maintain an IT department to further the children’s education and prepare them for life.
Computers to help children with their schooling.
Internet connection for computers so the children learn to communicate with the world and broaden their knowledge.
General maintenance such as repainting living areas and repairs to the roof. Currently it is winter in Lebanon and water is leaking into the girls’ bedrooms.
Renovating a house in the grounds to cater to visitors with the revenue raised going towards running the monastery, orphanage and school.
Ongoing food supplies.